Township organizing quake readiness if well reopens
WEATHERSFIELD — Because of underground mines that dot Mineral Ridge, an earthquake of any magnitude could be particularly devastating, township Trustee Marvin McBride said.
The trustees held a special meeting Wednesday and invited representatives from the surrounding communities, the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District and the county to ensure there is a collaborative plan in place in case a nearby injection well is allowed to reopen and the area once again experiences earthquakes.
In addition to getting fire and police departments in the township and surrounding communities on the same page for a contingency plan, MVSD board president Matt Blair said representatives also have to think about water and sewer line disruption, road integrity and help its residents understand their insurance protection.
McBride encouraged all residents to photograph the corners and foundations of their homes today, with proof of date, to help protect themselves, and to check their policies for coverage.
McBride said Mineral Ridge could be very vulnerable to quakes and insurance isn’t likely to cover the damage.
“If an earthquake of any size were to hit the area, Mineral Ridge will really be hurt by it. It would be a scary thing,” McBride said.
The MVSD is expecting to receive in a few months an emergency action plan that includes Niles, McDonald and Weathersfield police and fire input. The plan is being prepared by Gannett Fleming and Associates, the engineering firm the district is working with to address and assess work needed at the Meander Dam, Blair said.
After a series of earthquakes that culminated in a 2.1 magnitude quake, a well off of state Route 169 in the township was ordered to shut down in 2014 by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Owned by American Waste Management Services, a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge ordered the company and ODNR to submit plans on the conditions under which the well could be reopened. Judge Kimberly Cocroft is expected to rule which of the plans should be implemented.
The state’s plan would require months of testing, adjustments, underground mapping and studies and cut the amount of waste water being injected into the deep well. The company’s plan would lead to renewed operations after a couple of weeks, according to court records.
In case the well does open and seismic activity begins again, Trustee Gil Blair said the community needs to be prepared. Because there have been no quakes since the well was shut down, and none before it started, it is reasonable to assume the well and the quakes are connected, he said. The states contends the same in court documents.
The township will be asking representatives from the Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency to meet with police and fire chiefs in Niles, McDonald and Weathersfield for the next step in researching their protocols and aligning them, Gil Blair said.
rfox@tribtoday.com